Sheet flow water rides have become popular in recent years. The technology that Applicant has previously developed termed FlowRider® relates to a standing wave sheet flow water ride attraction adapted to inject a sheet flow of water under pressure onto a contoured or inclined ride surface. By injecting water under pressure in this manner, i.e., at supercritical speed, the sheet flow is supported underneath by the ride surface and conforms without breaking to the contours thereof. This allows a rider to perform water skimming and simulated surfing maneuvers on the ride surface and sheet flow by using the force of gravity and the upward momentum created by the upward flow, wherein the rider can oscillate back and forth in substantial equilibrium while performing maneuvers thereon.
Typically, these sheet flow water rides are considerably smaller and have a smaller footprint than traditional water rides, such as wave pools, water slides and log rides, etc., and therefore, are less expensive to manufacture, construct and install than conventional water rides. Nevertheless, one of the drawbacks of these water rides is that there is the potential for reduced throughput and therefore reduced capacity. For example, in many cases, especially when smaller versions of the water ride are installed, only a single rider may be able to ride the water ride at any given time. Moreover, due to the nature of the ride, it is often desirable for riders to spend a longer period of time, i.e., more than just a few seconds, riding on the water ride so that they can learn the skills necessary to ride it properly. Riders will also need to ride it multiple times to achieve the skill sets necessary to perform adequately.
Nevertheless, one of the main advantages of these water rides is that in addition to being a participatory sport, they are also a great spectator sport, i.e., they have the ability to attract spectators who may be interested in watching the participants, even if they don't have a desire to ride the ride themselves. In this respect, in addition to traditional water theme parks and amusement parks, these water rides have been popular and installed at restaurants, night clubs, bars, at the beach, at private resorts, etc., and/or provided with loud speakers and colorful lights so that competitions and demonstrations can be held that customers would be willing to pay to watch. They have also been installed at sporting goods stores and other businesses as a means of attracting customers to their stores.
These water rides can also be used in connection with promotional and/or sponsorship activities by businesses that may be interested in using the water ride as a means of promoting the products and/or services that they sell. For example, third party businesses may have an interest in using the water ride at a planned promotional event or activity with surfing as a theme, and in such case, they might want to have the water ride available at a remote location which could help promote their products and/or services or other objective at that venue.
The ride surface itself also provides an excellent platform for the placement of advertisements, banners and logos, etc., which can be the focal point of not only spectators, but also photographers and specific targeted marketing materials and brochures. For this reason, business may have an incentive to use the water ride in a variety of promotional applications outside the normal water theme park and amusement park context. Even though throughput may be relatively low, many businesses may have an interest in using these water rides as a means of attracting customers to their businesses, and/or promoting their products and/or services.
For these reasons, it has been found that in some cases it is desirable to have a portable version of the water ride available, so that it can be transported to and set up at remote locations where special events and/or activities might be held or planned, rather than having them permanently installed in the ground at a theme park or amusement park. Indeed, by making them portable, these water rides can potentially be used much like a moon bounce at a children's party, or a band at a wedding, etc., i.e., they can be the means by which third party businesses can provide entertainment for their guests, including customers, employees and others they may invite to an activity or event. Although the sheet flow water ride concept may be more suited for younger adults, it has the potential for mass appeal to the general public at large, i.e., surfing is a popular iconic sport that has significant appeal to people of all ages throughout the world.
In the past, as shown in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,589, attempts have been made to modularize these sheet flow water rides and their components so that they can be disassembled, stored, transported, and then re-assembled when necessary, and used at a remote site. Various components of the water ride, including the ride surface itself, were modularized, and had to be broken down into several pieces, and then assembled and disassembled, which disadvantageously increased the time it took to set it up, wherein more manpower was required. This not only increased the need to hire more laborers, but it also increased the time it took to set it up. The modularization of the components also allowed seams to be formed which could potentially result in leaks on the ride surface.
In Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,676,530 and 7,367,894, water rides were shown comprising a reinforced membrane material tensioned over a supporting framework which allowed the water ride to be relatively light and capable of being manufactured and installed without expensive molded composite fiberglass and concrete ride surfaces. Nevertheless, the specific design of these water rides was not shown or intended to be portable.
What is needed therefore is a portable sheet flow water ride that can be stored and transported easily without having to assemble and disassemble separate pieces for each set up, which can utilize integrated ride surface components to avoid creating seams that could potentially lead to leaks, and which can be made compact so that it can be built on a trailer and stored and fitted into a standard shipping container.